Appropriately crazy art design places masses of Photoshopped hair swirling wildly around Gaiman’s rhymed defense of unshorn locks. When a lass named Bonnie comments on his crazy hair, the narrator stoutly responds with a catalog of its inhabitants: “In my hair / Gorillas leap, / Tigers stalk, / And ground sloths sleep. / Prides of lions / Make their lair / Somewhere / in my crazy hair.” Like Ralph Steadman in a Cubist phase, McKean crafts stylized, angular figures gesticulating and clambering through hirsute jungles that, in the end, reach out to snag Bonnie herself—who is last seen “Dancing with the dancers there / Happy as a millionaire.” In the works since 2005 (and long available on audio, read by the author), this makes a rousing companion or “hair” apparent to the likes of Keith Graves’s The Unexpectedly Bad Hair of Barcelona Smith (2006) or Edward Koren’s Very Hairy Harry (2003). (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-06-057908-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2009
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn.
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A young owl achieves his grand ambition.
Owl, an adorably earnest and gallant little owlet, dreams of being a knight. He imagines himself defeating dragons and winning favor far and wide through his brave exploits. When a record number of knights go missing, Owl applies to Knight School and is surprisingly accepted. He is much smaller than the other knights-in-training, struggles to wield weapons, and has “a habit of nodding off during the day.” Nevertheless, he graduates and is assigned to the Knight Night Watch. While patrolling the castle walls one night, a hungry dragon shows up and Owl must use his wits to avoid meeting a terrible end. The result is both humorous and heartwarming, offering an affirmation of courage and clear thinking no matter one’s size…and demonstrating the power of a midnight snack. The story never directly addresses the question of the missing knights, but it is hinted that they became the dragon’s fodder, leaving readers to question Owl’s decision to befriend the beast. Humor is supplied by the characters’ facial expressions and accented by the fact that Owl is the only animal in his order of big, burly human knights. Denise’s accomplished digital illustrations—many of which are full bleeds—often use a warm sepia palette that evokes a feeling of antiquity, and some spreads feature a pleasing play of chiaroscuro that creates suspense and drama.
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-31062-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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A white youth from Ohio, Sheldon Russell Curtis (Say), and a black youth from Georgia, Pinkus Aylee (Pink), meet as young soldiers with the Union army. Pink finds Say wounded in the leg after a battle and brings him home with him. Pink's mother, Moe Moe Bay, cares for the boys while Say recuperates, feeding and comforting them and banishing the war for a time. Whereas Pink is eager to go back and fight against "the sickness" that is slavery, Say is afraid to return to his unit. But when he sees Moe Moe Bay die at the hands of marauders, he understands the need to return. Pink and Say are captured by Confederate soldiers and brought to the notorious Andersonville prison camp. Say is released months later, ill and undernourished, but Pink is never released, and Polacco reports that he was hanged that very first day because he was black. Polacco (Babushka Baba Yaga, 1993, etc; My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, above) tells this story, which was passed down for generations in her family (Say was her great-great-grandfather), carefully and without melodrama so that it speaks for itself. The stunning illustrations — reminiscent of the German expressionist Egon Shiele in their use of color and form — are completely heartbreaking. A spectacular achievement. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4- 8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1994
ISBN: 0-399-22671-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1994
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